Anata Ga Iru Kagiri
by Dissidia-Hime
Summary: Fame gets in the way of a lot of things... Sokeru


**Being frank, this fic sprung to life following my wake from a rather complicated dream, which, strangely, has no connection to it whatsoever. I really haven't figured out where I'm going to go with this. I don't even know if there's going to be a great story here. Well, cross your fingers if you're reading this and we'll see, shall we?**

**The setting is after the events in Season 2 but before the 25 years later epilogue. Pay attention and anyone should be able to get their ages right.**

**Finally, note the rating, things might get a little steamy...just a little.**

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It was nearing midnight.

She pulled apart, quaking for breath and turned away. The attack had come as a deliberate surprise; one as of which's effects she was beginning to find herself struggling to reel from. It was just…_'so unlike him'_, she decided. For him of all people, to pull something like that on her…

…how could he…?

Utterly perplexed, she guided her thoughts forcefully back to the day's earlier events, trying hard to recall any clues that could possibly explain what her male companion had just done. Indeed, at her request they had shared dinner together. She had wanted to talk about certain things; things she felt she had to tell him – at least him, if none other.

How had a simple dinner as friends turned out this way? But then again, they weren't just friends, not really.

It was getting late. One of many reasons why she had accepted his offer to take their 'friendly' little discussion elsewhere, or, more specifically, his apartment.

She trusted him. She had always trusted him; but right now, after that…kiss…well, she didn't quite know what to make of things. Still…

…her body had reacted to him, she had to admit that.

To the duo, mere seconds felt like hours ticking by, torturing them both with an uneasy silence. She knew she had to break it soon.

"TK…" she voiced in a whisper; barely audible despite the quiet apartment room setting, the hint of a question at the mention of his name.

Slowly she was regaining a somewhat steady composure, her shortness of breath dissipating, but not quite absolutely. TK however, wasn't anywhere near a decent recovery as she was.

"Is it," he began, a noticeable tremor in the echo of his voice. "It is because I'm younger than you?" he finished, or so she thought.

"Or because I'm his brother?"

She could have sworn she detected a minor crack in his voice as he said the second line. Even with her back towards him she could already picture the sight of his distressed form unmistakably in the swivel of her mind's imagination – his messy flaxen-colored hair, his severe panting, his cerulean-blue eyes portraying hurt, and his entire being dripping with perspiration at the heat of their contact. She even knew for a fact the collar of his shirt had been unfastened; he had loosened it himself during the short lip-lock they shared.

So he had more to his intentions…

Subconsciously, she brought her hands up and crossed her arms, hugging her self, as if the action provided her some additional security. The shirt wasn't an issue, she decided. What cautioned her was an article of clothing he wore a tad lower.

"…Sora…" he called her name, that quivering voice of his growing evermore impatient, distraught. Immediately she felt her self tense. She was…excited? She liked it. Sora knew she liked it, hearing her name from those lips.

"Sora, please…" TK pleaded again, taking the steps necessary to close their distance. She could feel his deep ceruleans boring into her; as well as the exhilarating sensations that coursed through her veins, caused by the tickle of his breath against the back of her neck.

She struggled to keep her cool. For sure, she owed him an answer.

The female shook her head unhurriedly in response. "Neither," she added to affix clarity, and it was true. It didn't bother her that TK was a little younger than she was. At the same time Sora also knew she didn't care that he was Matt's younger brother. It had just taken her by surprise, the abruptness of it all, or how abrupt it seemed to her at the very least. TK…loved her? The whole situation just felt so utterly unexpected.

She imparted her thoughts to him. He, having heard her concerns, began to express his story to her.

"It was about a year ago," he told her, half saddened. "During Kari's wedding."

He needn't have said more. Sora could recall quite a bit of that joyous occasion; joyous for the happy couple and some others, so-so or average for the majority; where TK was concerned, Sora remembered how down he had been, and for obvious reasons too – he was, after all, loosing the 'love of his life' to another man.

Back then she had spotted him sitting by him self in a rather secluded corner of the ballroom, head hung low and emanating vibes of depression while the festivities ensued. She had taken it upon her self at the time to cheer him up somewhat, or at least accompany and support him through the grievous ordeal he was facing. She truly did remember her attempts being fruitful. Guess she just didn't know how fruitful.

"You took my hand in your own and listened to everything I had to say…"

"You let me cry on your shoulder, even when you knew it'd ruin your Valentino…"

"You wiped away my tears and gave me that comforting smile…"

"And once I was feeling better, you danced the last dance of that night with me…" he summarized, gently turning her to face him.

Sora grew stiff at the unforeseen contact. "You were, so much like a mother to me over the years, Sora. But after that night, I started seeing you differently…" he confessed. "I realized…I couldn't see you as a mother figure to me anymore…"

"I love you."

His confession stomped her, she didn't know what or how to respond.

"But back then you were…and then now…" he trailed off between words, unable to bring him self to say what he truly wanted, fearing he would hurt her by bringing it up then.

Sora chose to ignore the unsaid vocabulary, already knowing full well what he was implying to; they had spoken at length of 'that' issue during dinner.

At a loss for words, she met his cerulean gaze with her own set of rubies, her translucent orbs transmitting a mixture of emotions; among the most apparent were confusion and uncertainty.

What was she supposed to do?

As she looked up at him, it didn't escape Sora's attention of how conscious she was of him now, how tall and incredibly attractive he had grown to be. To her, he was comparably as dashing in physical appeal to his elder brother, though TK, she realized was taller than Matt, or Tai for that matter, second only to Joe who had inherited the tall-and-lanky gene. The younger male had after all been a star basketball player during middle school and throughout his varsity years; not to mention an aspiring writer in the making at present. She couldn't even begin to recollect when precisely he had surpassed her in height. Nonetheless, the allure she felt towards him surprised her more than anyone…

It wasn't long before she found her eyes settling their main focus on his lips. He was just….so tempting…

"I…" She hesitated.

She…wanted him to kiss her, to kiss him back! But where was all this desire coming from? Had she all this while subconsciously held an attraction for Takeru 'TK' Takaishi?

Pondering for an answer of reasonable logic, Sora failed to notice as the younger individual followed her gaze. Realizing what she was staring at, TK felt an overwhelming heat rise within him. He couldn't help it; reflected there in his cerulean-blues was the living definition of the most beautiful woman in the world. His patience was fast running dry, he could not contain him self for long – Sora had this enticing desirability to her and in the past year he had exhausted asking him self over and over of how she or any other could be so ignorant of it.

The clock struck twelve. "Forgive me," his last words through immensely ragged breathing.

It was upon said hour when he finally gave in, gave in to his primal instincts. TK lurched forwards, pressing his lips against hers for the second time in the last 15 minutes or so rather violently, his hands steadying a firm hold on her to halt any resistance. In his heart he told him self he must be on Cloud 9; she tasted like heaven to him, if heaven had a taste.

Much to her chagrin, this second attack stunned Sora hands down as well. Why? Wasn't this exactly what she wanted? How was it he could read her very thoughts? The female had to mentally slap her self for not seeing it coming and for not steeling her self to counter it.

She tried vehemently to pull away, protesting against his lips still engulfing hers with increasingly heated passion, for all the good her efforts were worth. For her own sake, Sora knew she couldn't afford to let his assault continue. Already she could feel her strength fade at the intensity of his touch.

"TK, stop!" She managed, wrestling her lips free for what would be a fraction of a second before the feverish male claimed them again with his own, pushing her up against the nearest wall and pinning her there.

His touch was intoxicating. She could feel her temperature skyrocket. Sora felt as if the room was spinning and her body was ablaze. It was either that or she was seeing stars. The feelings he could evoke within her…never in all her 25 years of living could Sora have predicted that this once, innocent boy would one day drive her oh-so-near insanity through his onslaught of vigorously fervent kisses. Didn't he know what he was doing to her?

…or did he…and simply relished in it?

Part of her wanted him to keep going, to strip her of all she had on and take her as his intentions clearly revealed. It was akin to a dreaded mind game, a malicious clash between her Id and Superego...

In his escalating zeal, she felt his hands start to roam, awakening her senses wherever he touched. Sora moaned into his lips, tensing explicitly to the sensations of his slipping his right hand under her dress, tracing his expert fingers up the side of her bare ribs, creeping progressively higher still.

'_N-No!'_ Her thoughts screamed – it was all happening too fast. She had only just gotten to know he wanted this of her.

She felt his tongue weave its way into the very corners of her mouth, deepening the passionate kiss they shared.

'_No!'_ He was driving her crazy…

The last straw came when he parted her legs with his own…

"No!" She yelled, wrenching her lips from his and turning away in one sharp, fluid movement; her anxiety getting the better of her.

The tone of dread in her voice was enough to snap TK back from his animalistic disposition; as if he'd been hit with a sudden revelation.

He looked at the woman before him, she was trembling and trembling fiercely, her eyes were shut tight as if she were afraid and a sob or two escaped her short breaths for air. TK could not fall short to notice the lone tear that streaked down the side of her fair face.

Shaken by the consequences of his own lack of control, he relaxed his hold on her, letting her slide to the floor as her legs failed to keep her upright. "I'm so sorry," he voiced, regrettably – he hadn't meant to frighten her.

"Sora?" he called.

Overly concerned, he knelt down beside her trembling figure and waited, waited for any implication whatsoever that she was going to be alright. Inwardly, he began beating him self up over having taken things as far as he had done, feeling a mounting urgency to leave.

The minute hand clicked to the sixth digit – a good 30 minutes soon passed.

Sora seemed to had gotten over the initial shock, finding the strength to wipe away her tears and stifle her slight sobs. She kept her eyes cast downwards on the dark, carpeted floor, wondering what she would say to him. True she didn't want him to worry about her, but telling him everything was going to be fine now would be a lie; and he, Sora was certain, was familiar enough with her temperament to know when she was lying or not.

The experience to her fell closely along the lines of traumatizing, but at the same time, intensely pleasuring. It was…confusing; there was no doubt about that. But after some sorting through her thoughts, Sora accepted that she would have to face the facts. She knew well what the indications of her emotions were, of what they meant…

She…was dangerously infatuated with him.

But the question was, did she dare risk a relationship with him? Well, 'Child of Love'?

"TK…" she voiced meekly, some moments later. Their eyes met once more and the blonde offered her a silent apology with his innocent-looking cerulean-blues. She smiled faintly in response and heaved a lengthy sigh.

"You should stay here till you're recovered more," he said, rising to a stand. TK proceeded to sweep swiftly across the room to its only exit.

"I'll head over to Davis' for the night," he said, turning the knob. "And…if you want me to pretend tonight never happe-"

"Wait!" He did wait.

The blonde noted her voice sounded unexpectedly calm, but TK knew better – Sora had a way with putting on a strong exterior…even when inside she was plagued by fear.

"It's not that I…" she tried. "It's not that I, don't want to be with you," she refined, her statement causing TK to blink in astonishment. She…loved him back? After all he had just done, he found it hard to believe Sora was actually accepting him so.

"It's just, these kinds of things, people will talk…"

"…you know…the media…" _'The media?'_ He released the door knob from his grip as recognition dawned upon him; how could he have been so stupid, so inconsiderate?

At once TK was by Sora's side, kneeling before her again. She inched closer to him in return, cradling a side of his face lovingly in one of her palms. He noted her smile was still weak, but there was a tinge of relief written over her features now. "I'm sorry for being…indecisive…" she phrased. "It's just…after everything and all…I've been…"

"…really scared…"

"I understand," he replied truthfully.

TK caressed his hand against hers, the one still cupping his right cheek and bequeathed her an encouraging smile. Supportively, he coerced her towards him, leaning forwards all the same to reintroduce their lips with yet another passionate kiss, only, it was tender this time, not rough or lacking in control as the first few.

The blonde reveled in the feel of her once again, savoring the sweet moment. Sora wasn't fighting him away this time and he was graciously thankful of that.

'_Take it slow,'_ he reminded him self, breaking the affectionate contact for some badly-needed oxygen.

He knew she had her doubts, but he was sure of him self. One way or another, he would just have to restore her confidence in him. "I won't let anything come between us," he promised.

She nodded gratefully. "TK, thank you."

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**Well? So how was that? I know there're a lot of holes to fill. I haven't really even figured out the pace of this thing yet. Either way, things should be much clearer in the next chapter.**

**Reviews will be greatly appreciated. No flames please, I prefer constructive criticism – I do want to learn and improve you know.**


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